A Perfectly Good Heart
by vernus
Summary: Lily/James. When they meet, he gets on her bad side, and stays there for almost their whole time at Hogwarts. In 7th year James changes, and Lily finds out his gestures are genuine and he has a perfectly good heart. Title may change later :
1. Chapter 1

A Perfectly Good Heart

**Authors' note: A tried and tested plotline, in my interpretation. I found that many James X Lily fics are written OOC (in which James is courteous, kind, chivalrous; Lily is open to his advances instead of James being an arrogant jerk and Lily rejecting him) and I wanted to try writing it myself. I also wanted this cause The Marauders are my favourite HP characters ever :)**

**This isn't going to include every day of their lives :) I'll probably write the first day/significant days of every year, and I'll begin my narration sometime in sixth year. **

**Time: First day of Hogwarts**

_~lily~_

Lily stood on the brick platform, taking in the scene. She watched as students rushed up to the Hogwarts Express in twos and threes, dragging their trunks, catching up with each other, showing off their new stuff. The gleaming Hogwarts Express puffed steam into the chilly air.

Casting her eyes around, Lily caught sight of Severus, standing next to his mother. She was about to go over when she realized that her sister, standing herself a short distance along the platform, was crying. Feeling inexplicably guilty and awful, Lily went over to Petunia, who looked up at Lily in anger. "What are you doing here?" She wiped her eyes and looked away. Some of the students boarding were looking at them.

"Look – I'm sorry, Tuney, I'm sorry! Listen –" Lily caught hold of Petunia's hand and tried to hold on, but Petunia struggled against her grip. "Maybe once I'm there – no, listen, Tuney! Maybe once I'm there, I'll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and persuade him to change his mind!"

"I don't want to go!" Petunia snatched her hand back, glaring. "You think I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a – a freak?" She scanned her vicinity, and saw all the students in their school robes, pushing their trolleys loaded with vintage-looking books and gilded cages with owls.

Petunia's words hit Lily like ice. In spite of herself, she felt tears welling up in her eyes – her own sister had been treating her like an abomination ever since she'd discovered she was a witch. Different.

"I'm not a freak," Lily managed. "That's a horrible thing to say." She stuffed her fists into the pockets of her pants.

Petunia almost smiled. "That's where you're going," she said. "A special school for freaks. You and that Snape boy – weirdos, that's what you two are. It's good you're being separated from normal people. It's for our safety." Was Lily dreaming, or could she detect a hint of bitterness in Petunia's tone? She looked towards her parents, clearly enjoying this new experience.

"You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the Headmaster and begged him to take you." She hissed in a low tone. Instantly, Petunia's cheeks colored.

"Beg? I didn't beg!" As the defensive words sprung from Petunia, Lily felt a strange kind of triumph.

"I saw his reply. It was very kind."

"You shouldn't have read –" whispered Petunia. "That was my private – how could you?"

Lily recalled how Severus had shown her the letter, and she almost looked at him. Petunia gasped.

"That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my room!" Her tone was shrill and accusatory. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw her parents glance towards them.

"No – not sneaking. Severus saw the envelope, and he couldn't believe a Muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that's all!" She defended him, trying to explain it away.

"Apparently, wizards poke their noses in everywhere!" accused Petunia. She'd turned white as a sheet. "_Freak!" _she spat at Lily, then flounced off angrily to where their parents stood. Lily saw her parents cast a concerned look at her and then Petunia, and sighed in resignation. She walked back over to them as the train's horn sounded.

"I guess I have to go," Lily said quietly, taking hold of her trolley. Her mother sighed and kissed her on the cheek. "We'll miss you, Lily. Have fun."

Lily's father hugged her tightly. "I can't believe our Lily is going to learn magic. You've got to write to tell us all about it."

"Definitely," Lily said, sounding very half-hearted. Petunia scowled at her as she pushed her trolley towards the waiting train. The porter took her luggage, and Lily climbed up the steps, waving at her parents and trying to smile.

Once the train had moved off, Lily wandered down the carpeted corridor, looking for a seat. Severus had disappeared, and most of the compartments were full. Finally, she came to one that was only half-occupied by a group of rowdy boys who were chatting noisily, and who had left the seats by the window empty. She slid open the door and they all looked to her then continued their conversation, disinterested. Lily settled down by the window, looking out at the beautiful Scotland scenery. Although it was her first day at a school which taught magic, she was depressed.

The boys in her compartment were getting on very well, from what little Lily bothered to listen to. She pressed her face against the cool window pane, tears beginning to form again in her eyes.

Lily heard the door slide open again but didn't bother to look up. She saw Severus settle into the seat opposite her, and her mood worsened. "I don't want to talk to you."

"Why not?" Severus asked, his tone clearly upset. Lily felt slightly guilty, but couldn't forgive him.

"Tuney hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."

"So what?"

Lily couldn't believe him – he was insufferable. She threw him a look of contempt. "So she's my sister!" She wiped her eyes with the back of her hands surreptitiously, trying to stop tears from spilling out.

"But we're going!" Severus said, his tone betraying his excitement. "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!" His black eyes livened up, his sallow skin actually gained some colour in his thrill.

Lily nodded, not quite able to control a slight smile. Maybe she could forget Petunia for now, for she would surely come to her senses. "You'd better be in Slytherin," continued Snape in that same brighter tone.

"Slytherin?" Someone else asked. Lily glanced around. One of the rowdy boys in the compartment was looking at Severus in a way that made Lily take an instant dislike to him. She knew his type – arrogant, stuck up, self-assured. She was about to reply Severus and ignore him, but the boy continued. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

Lily wasn't sure who he was talking to, until she saw the boy lounging on the seats opposite him. They were both dark-haired, but looked absolutely nothing alike. The one who had spoken had hair that stuck up in odd places and looked permanently messy, while his friend had longer, straighter hair. The second boy did not smile. "My whole family have been in Slytherin," he said.

"Blimey," the first boy said in surprise. "And I thought you seemed alright!" 

His friend grinned slightly. "Maybe I'll break the tradition." He cast a sidelong glance at Severus, then continued. "Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

The first boy mimed lifting a weapon. "Gryffindor, where the brave dwell at heart! Like my dad."

Lily understood nothing of their discussion, being from a Muggle family, but Severus made a small, disparaging noise of contempt.

"Got a problem with that?" the boy asked, in response.

"No," said Severus with a sneer. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy."

"Where're you headed to, seeing as you're neither?" interjected second boy. The first boy burst out laughing. Annoyed, Lily sat up and glared at both of them.

"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."

The two boys imitated her voice, as Lily fumed inside. She stomped out to the corridor, raging with anger. "What's their issue?" She vented her feelings by ranting. "I've had my fair share of encounters with stuck-up bullies, but seriously, those people don't even know us."

Severus said nothing, much to Lily's anger. She flung open the door of the next compartment they came to, and found that there were only three other students inside – two girls and a boy. They were all in their Muggle clothes still, and were making awkward conversation. It was clear that they were new students.

"Excuse me," Lily said, trying to sufficiently calm her voice down. "Can we sit here?"

One of the girls who had red hair like Lily smiled. "Sure."

Lily sat down beside her. She remembered her resolution to make as many friends as possible, and smiled in a friendly manner. "I'm Lily Evans, by the way."

"Nice name," the girl said. "I'm Amelia Bones. This is Frank Longbottom and Georgie Lance."

The other two, less outgoing students nodded shyly at her. Frank was dark-haired, and seemed nervous. The other girl, Georgie, was pleasant-looking and she was flipping through some kind of book.

"Nice to meet you guys," Lily said cordially. "I'd like to introduce you to Severus, a friend of mine."

"Great to meet you, Severus," said Amelia.

"Nice to see you too," Severus said rather stiffly, and sat down beside Frank and opposite Lily.

Amelia could tell that he wasn't particularly interested in talking to her, so she resumed her conversation with Georgie while Frank twiddled his thumbs awkwardly. Lily glanced at Severus. "So, you seem to know those guys back at the other compartment."

"I don't know them personally," Severus said. "But I know of their families. The taller one is one of the Blacks. They're a highly respected pure-blood family. The other one is a Potter – I hear he's the only son. They're incredibly wealthy."

"Figures," Lily muttered in distaste.

The door slid open. "Anything off the trolley?" The refreshments lady smiled at them. "Pumpkin juice, or any snacks?"

Lily looked to Severus. He'd know better than she about what to order. "Uh, two pumpkin juices," he told the lady. "I think it's a couple of Sickles," he said to Lily in an undertone, and she reached for her pocket. The lady ladled ice-cold pumpkin juice into two disposable cups.

"I'll take a Cauldron Cake," Amelia told the lady, who beamed and opened a drawer to retrieve it. Georgie ordered the same, but Frank just shook his head nervously and continued staring into space.

Severus was not very comfortable around the other three, especially after they all said they wanted to be in Gryffindor. He chose to remain quiet and stare out of the window, hoping to catch the first sight of Hogwarts. On the other hand, Lily was getting along magnificently with Amelia and Georgie, both of whom seemed very pleasant and friendly.

When the train reached its destination, Lily and Severus got into a boat with Amelia, Georgie, Frank and another timid-looking boy with flat mousy hair. The hulking gamekeeper, who introduced himself as Hagrid, told them to "Jus' get into any boat" and they took one of those at the front. Lily had heard many rumours about the Giant Squid that lived in the lake, but she wasn't particularly scared of it. The lanterns at the head of each rowboat illuminated the area ahead of them, allowing Lily to see the imposing castle in the dark of the evening.

The castle was beautiful, Lily thought. She watched it grow nearer and nearer with a look of awe on her face. _This is it_, she thought. _I'm really here. I'm going to learn magic. For real. _

It was a fantasy that she could never have imagined. The entrance to the castle was just as impressive, with its gray stone walls that towered over ten storeys high and heavy iron gates. There wasn't any barbed wire or spikes on the fences, but Lily assumed there would be more effective magical enchantments protecting the place.

A professor of the school met the new students just outside the Great Hall. Lily stood in their midst beside Severus and Amelia, looking at the professor. She was quite young but dressed in a very old manner, dull-coloured robes with a pointed olive green witch's hat. Her dark eyes were alert and watchful as she spoke.

"All new students, please gather round. I am Professor McGonagall. Shortly, you will enter the Great Hall and be sorted into your houses – which you will eat with, study with, and live with. There are four houses – Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."

There were a few mumbles.

"Anything but Slytherin," prayed some first-year girl behind Lily.

"I'm probably going to end up in Hufflepuff or Gryffindor," whispered another new student to his friend. The friend nodded briefly. "As long as you're not in Slytherin, it's fine. Personally I hope I'm in Ravenclaw."

Only Severus, and some other dodgy looking characters that Lily didn't like the look of wanted Slytherin. She was having some doubts about it.

"The decision of the Sorting Hat is undebatable," Professor McGonagall added. "When I open the doors, you will follow me and line up in front of the stage."

Everyone nodded, a silence falling across them. Lily wondered what the Great Hall would look like.

Professor McGonagall turned, and the great wooden doors swung open to reveal a massive hall with four long tables that stretched from one end to another. At the front of the room, Lily, craning her neck, could make out a table running perpendicular to all the others. It was occupied by several teachers and professors. Each table was decorated by gold and silver cutlery, and students were all looking straight at them.

Professor McGonagall began to walk, and Lily gazed around her in awe. The ceilings of the hall seemed to be a sky – with stormclouds, a moon and everything. It was truly an amazing sight to Lily, who had lived in the "Muggle world" since birth. The magic was alive and beautiful.

They reached the front. As Lily stood in the crowd of new faces, Professor McGonagall, read through the list of new students from her long scroll. Lily waited in anticipation for her name and eventually it came to her.

"Evans, Lily!" She called in a crisp, efficient voice. Lily pushed through the people and stepped up to the podium and onto the stool, where Professor McGonagall lowered the Sorting Hat onto her head. Casting her eyes around, Lily caught Severus' eye; he was watching anxiously for the Sorting Hat's verdict. Lily herself felt quakes of terror as she recalled the conversation on the train. She'd heard many good things about Gryffindor, even though the fact that a couple of jerkasses thought the same way put her off slightly.

The Sorting Hat started moving above her head, giving Lily an abrupt shock. With some consideration, the Hat finally bellowed, "_Gryffindor!_"

Lily saw Severus' disappointed face, and she gave him an apologetic look. Lily herself wasn't sure about how she felt – Gryffindor seemed a popular choice, but Severus was her only and best friend. Nevertheless, she walked towards the red-and-gold table at the far end of the Great Hall, feeling everyone's eyes on her. The boy at the end of the line moved up a bit to make room, and Lily saw his face – long black hair which fell into his eyes, gray eyes in a familiar face. He was that jerk from the train who'd made fun of Severus. Turning her back on him in contempt, Lily pretended to be absorbed in the Sorting. So he'd made it to Gryffindor, not Slytherin. Shocker.

Georgie was sorted into Hufflepuff. Frank was sorted into Gryffindor and he sat next to a friend he'd already made somewhere further up the table. The next student was Remus, Lupin, who sat opposite the black-haired boy. He seemed to have already made friends with him. Two more students were sorted into Ravenclaw, four to Hufflepuff.

"Potter, James!" called Professor McGonagall. The annoyingly self-assured, familiar boy was sorted into Gryffindor almost immediately. The entire table cheered, but Lily glared at her plate. James sat next to Lupin, opposite Lily, and then it was Severus' turn. He stepped up onto the stage and the Sorting Hat was lowered onto his head. The Sorting Hat spent a lot of time deciding, apparently much longer than usual, because some of the students and teachers started muttering among themselves. Lily saw Severus' face contorted in concentration and hope. "_Slytherin!_"

She watched as Severus walked over to the Slytherin table and sat next to a tall, older boy with white-blonde hair and a prefect's badge on his chest. The prefect clapped Severus on the back and smiled welcomingly at him.

Looked like Severus had found his new family.

"Tyler, Alice!" read out Professor McGonagall. A petite girl with a nice, friendly face and short auburn hair ran up to the stage. The Sorting Hat declared her to be in Gryffindor, and she bounded over to their table, pausing a bit at the end of the row as if choosing whether to sit beside Lily or beside James, eventually going up the Lily side of the table. She smiled brightly, showing dimples. "Hey, I'm Alice Tyler, nice to meet you."

"I'm Lily Evans," Lily said in as pleasant a voice she could muster. "Nice to meet you, as well."

At the sounds of their voices, the two boys turned around. James glanced at Lily, then looked at Alice. "Hey," he said. "I'm James."

"Pleasure," Alice said, shaking his hand.

"Sirius Black," the black-haired boy said.

"Black?" Alice asked. "You mean – "

"Yeah, the family of Slytherins," Sirius said with a slightly bitter tone. "But I'm here now, so I guess I'm different."

Alice's frown turned into a smile. "Sure," she said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend anybody."

"You didn't," Sirius assured. "I hate my family as well, everyone does."

"I meant – " Alice hurriedly tried to make amends, but neither James nor Sirius were still listening. Lily looked at her sympathetically.

"So, tell me about yourself," Alice asked Lily. "Where're you from?"

"I'm English," Lily said. "I'm Muggle-born."

"Seriously?" Alice sounded thrilled. "That is so cool! So how'd you find out that you were a witch?"

"Severus told me," Lily said. She cast a glance at the boys to see if they would take the chance to make a sarcastic remark, but four of them were deep in conversation – Remus, Sirius, James and another scrawny looking boy with shifty eyes. There were a couple of first-year girls and boys, but they were all further up the table. Resigned, Lily watched as the Headmaster called for silence. With a lot of muttering, the chatter finally died down to a whisper. The Headmaster tapped on his goblet with a golden spoon, then began his speech.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts," he said. "And to the new students, welcome to your new school, or home, where you will spend the next six years of your life. You're all probably starving, and we'll definitely get round to the Feast right after I introduce your new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher – Professor Philippa."

A tall, slim graceful witch in midnight blue robes stood up to general applause. She had very blonde hair under the black witch's hat, but nobody could see her eyes because she wore tinted glasses.

"Professor Philippa has authored several books with relevance to Defence against the Dark Arts. Her areas of speciality are Curses and exotic magical creatures," said the wizened old man.

More applause rang out through the hall. Lily turned to Alice. "She's beautiful."

"Yeah, she is," Alice agreed. "She'll make the perfect teacher."

"And now," The Headmaster announced. "We have what we've been waiting for. The SCHOOL SONG!" He waved his wand, casting a spell, and the background track started up.

All around Lily, students began singing – but everyone was singing to different melodies, at different speeds, the same lyrics. It clashed horribly in a cacophony of calls.

_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy warty Hogwarts_

_Teach us something please_

_Whether we be old and bald_

_Or young with scabby knees _

_Our heads could do with filling_

_With some interesting stuff_

_For now they're bare and full of air_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff_

_So teach us things worth knowing_

_Bring back what we've forgot_

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest_

_And learn until our brains all rot._

Most of the students sang with great enthusiasm, some to tunes of pop songs that were topping the charts; others to classics, some to nursery rhymes. The Headmaster himself belted out the song in a horribly off-pitch opera.

The new students watched in silence, absolutely stunned. Lily giggled. She couldn't help it. It was plainly ridiculous. Behind her a group of senior boys were shouting out the lyrics to a horrible funeral march. The entire table was laughing with them, cheering them on.

By the time most people had finished singing, they persisted in finishing their song. The entire school was looking at them in general amusement, and the Headmaster watched them with a twinkle in his eye. Lily, however, felt embarrassed for them. When they finally drew to a close, applause rang through the hall along with lots of cheering.

"Now that we're done," The Headmaster continued. "FOOD!" he bellowed suddenly. Lily, and a lot of the students, jumped in shock at his sudden exclamation. The tables filled themselves with a grand feast of food, and the goblets filled themselves with drink. Lily looked at all the food in wonder, her stomach growling like mad. Alice dug in at once, along with the three joker boys and Remus Lupin. Lily took a cautious sip from her goblet. It was pumpkin juice, same as the one she'd bought on the train. She scooped some pasta onto her plate, not wanting to look greedy but starving all the same.

As soon as the feast was over, a Prefect by the name of Fabian Prewett led the first-years up to their common rooms. Lily was absolutely full and content, walking by Alice and looking at all the new sights of the school – the moving paintings, swinging staircases, ghosts randomly floating about.

The common room was perfect, in Lily's opinion. So was her dormitory, the one at the top floor of the girl's tower. There were five four-poster beds there, and Lily was the first one in so she bagged the one by the north-facing window, so she could see the lake and mountain range. Alice took one beside her, then the other girls sharing their dorm came in. They had already formed fast friends.

"Hey," the first girl said half-drunkenly with a bright laugh as she walked in with her arms around the other two. She had black wavy hair up in two ponytails, and bright eyes. "So we'll be sharing a dorm, huh?"

"Yeah," Lily replied. "I'm Lily, what about you?"

"I'm Irise Meliflua," she answered with a smile. Then she shoved one of the girls off her. "Ow, get off me!" The girl who got pushed off stood up straighter and sat down with a bounce on the nearest bed. "This bed's mine," she announced. She raised an eyebrow at the others, warning them not to challenge her. They didn't. The girl on Irise's other side merely slouched her way to the last bed. "I'm Marlene McKinnon," she told Lily. "Nice meeting you."

"Same," Lily said, noticing that the blonde girl hadn't given her name yet.

"Alice here," Alice said brightly in a tone that contested Irise's. "I've met Irise before," she told Lily.

Lily arched an eyebrow.

"Yep, we met at Diagon Alley," Irise confirming, throwing herself down on the last bed which happened to be on Lily's other side. "So, Lily. What family are you from?"

"Uh … I don't quite get it. I'm Lily Evans," she said, unsure.

"Evans?" Irise asked. "Never heard of it. So your mum's the witch?"

"Actually, I'm Muggle-born," Lily confided with something close to pride. Irise raised an eyebrow. "Cool," she said. "So is Dorcas."

The blonde girl looked momentarily annoyed that Irise had introduced her without permission, but she gave a curt nod. "Dorcas Meadowes," she specified, lying down on her bed.

"Ugh, Dorcas, go change!" Irise yelled. Dorcas climbed out of her bed and staggered to their shared bathroom, which was just off the side opposite Lily' bed. Lily pulled the blankets up over her head, blocking out all light. She was far too tired to change, and seconds later she fell asleep, oblivious to the four girls still talking around her.

**AN: That's it! Please leave a review. Much appreciated :) **

**- Eliza (FairytaleRomance) **


	2. Chapter 2

A Perfectly Good Heart

**Author's Note: This chapter will be just one lesson – Potions.**

**Time: Sometime in the middle of First year.**

_~james~_

Potions was James' most hated subject. He wasn't particularly bad at it, but Potions always gave James a headache. It was with a bad grace that James approached every Potions lesson, and this was no exception.

Slughorn and the rest of the class were already seated when James and Sirius arrived, out of breath, at the door of the room. Remus glanced around at them, then turned back to face the front, sighing deeply. Slughorn was flipping through his thick Potions book, but when he glanced up and saw James and Sirius, he merely waved his hand. "Well, don't wait there. Sit down."

Some of the other classmates stared at him in outrage, but James didn't care. He was used to some favourtism from Sluggy, cause after all, James was the heir to a huge fortune. He didn't need to be particularly good at his work. Smirking slightly at Severus Snape's look of disgust, James swaggered right past him and sat down in his usual seat – second row from the front, behind Remus and Peter. Across the aisle, Lily Evans was the only member of the class that hadn't bothered to look at them. And that, for some reason, irked James.

"Today you'll be brewing a very simple potion – an Energy Brew. Follow the instructions on page fifty-five of your textbooks, and when you're done collect, label and fill a flask for me to evaluate. All ingredients you need are in the cupboard, and you can collect weighing balances from the side." Slughorn instructed.

James glanced at Sirius, who had been glancing at him, and they both flipped through their books to the page, scanning the list.

_Energy brew is a popular substituent for caffeine among wizards because of its simple recipe and short amount of time required for it to be prepared. Used commonly for people who have busy schedules, side effects of this potion include drooling, expressions of bliss and over-excitement. If taken in large amounts, the potion may cause hyperactivity and/or spontaneous combustion._

Instantly, James' mind jumped to possible pranks that he could play on teachers or other students with this. He whispered the possibility to Sirius, who snickered. "We could put some in Professor McGonagall's goblet."

James visualized Professor McGonagall drooling and smiling dreamily and almost let out a burst of laughter, but contained himself. He turned around to see if anyone was watching them, but saw Lily's annoyed glare. What was her problem?

Sirius had already gotten up and was rummaging through the store cupboard for ingredients. "What do we need other than Arrowroot, dried frogs and razor seaweed?"

"Thestral hair." James read out loud from his textbook, grabbing some of the other ingredients.

On the first day of school, James and Sirius had gotten along pretty well, but James would never have him pinned to be his best friend for so many months. He'd thought Sirius was pretty decent for someone who came from such an infamously wealthy and pure-blooded family, and Sirius also seemed to like him back. The two were perfectly matched in their family backgrounds – the eldest sons, or only son, in James' case, both rich, pure-blooded and they shared the same love of mischief. The biggest difference between them was that while James was adored by his family and loved them back, Sirius loathed his family and they treated him like a disappointment for making it into Gryffindor. His cousins, Bellatrix and Narcissa Black, refused to speak to him. All this gave Sirius an edgy, moody side that James would never fully understand.

As the weeks dragged on, James and Sirius found themselves naturally gravitating towards each other. They clicked together easily with no problems, and worked together easily as they had similar ability levels on most subjects. Another guy in their year, Peter Pettigrew, joined them sometimes, and they quite liked him too. Peter was a small boy with a very innocent face, who seemed to like James and Sirius very much. The two of them took Peter under their wing sometimes, and often sat with him at breakfast.

"Take this back to the cauldron." Sirius piled a heap of disgusting-looking spider's webs into James' arms. "We need … uh … fifty?"

"There's at least five hundred here, Sirius." James dumped the remaining spider's webs into Sirius' black hair, and walked away before Sirius could retaliate. Members of the class, including Slughorn, burst out laughing at Sirius' horrified expression, causing James to beam with pride and the satisfaction he always got from others' laughter.

James gazed around the class, meeting the eyes of everyone and getting thumbs-upped. Only two people hadn't responded to their antics – Lily Evans, ever as calm and concentrated, and Severus Snape, sitting next to Lily, cramped over his Potions textbook and scribbling in it.

"Get back to work, Black, Potter," Slughorn said, trying to hold back his laughter. "You're running out of time, and if you want to try for the best potion, you'll win fifty house points."

"What's the point?" James responded casually, ignoring Sirius' punch at his shoulder. "Lily will win the points for Gryffindor."

"Ah, you shouldn't be so quick to assume things, James," Slughorn said with a twinkle in his eye. James tried not to look to his left, but eventually curiosity got the better of him and he peeked. Lily wasn't looking at him. "Severus might win the points for Slytherin."

The black, stringy-haired boy looked up at his Professor and seemed to be debating whether to smile or not, but Slughorn had already looked away from him. James glanced at his textbook and started to follow the directions. Their cauldron was simmering nicely, but the contents, instead of turning pink, was red.

"What did you do, Sirius?" James asked, checking out his partner's book to make sure they were on the same page. "The potion's supposed to be pink now."

Sirius groaned. "Do not tell me you added the Lockfly wings."

"I did, why?"

"I did, you dolt. Now we've got to start over."

"What happened, boys?" Professor Slughorn walked over and stared into their cauldron disappointedly. "You're two of my most talented students! This should be easy for you." He waved his wand in a nonverbal spell and the red potion vanished, leaving them with an empty cauldron. "Get back to work, there's not much time left."

Across the room, Lily and Severus were done. Their cauldrons were filled with scarlet liquid and they looked up at Professor Slughorn expectantly. He turned and crossed the room to their table, where he peered satisfiedly at their concoctions. "Well done! Fifty points to Gryffindor _and _Slytherin!"

Lily turned to Severus with a wide smile. James' expression soured. He wasn't used to people preferring that slimy guy to him. Sirius seemed to notice that something was amiss. "Something up, James?" He followed his gaze. "Looking at Snivellus again? If I didn't know better, I'd say you fancied him. You're always looking at him."

"Am not," James said annoyedly.

"Better start now, James, Sirius," Slughorn called. James turned away and scowled. He wasn't interested in redoing the potion, but Sirius had already returned from the cupboard with the ingredients and was restarting the fire. Reluctantly, he went back to the cabinet to fetch supplies. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lily and Severus chatting and laughing to each other in front of Slughorn's desk. Slughorn was talking too, his full attention on them. James resented it.

He pulled out a tiny red squib of a firework – Filibuster's – and held his wand in hand. Sirius caught sight of it, and his expression lit up instantly with a mischievous grin. "Who?" he seemed to be asking. James nodded in Severus' direction, and then at the box of Wartcap Powder on the side table, just next to Severus. Sirius nodded in approval. "Pull it when you go over to get the webs," he whispered. James nodded, and walked over slowly, holding the firework tight within his left hand. "Incendio," he whispered. The firework began to sparkle and hiss. James threw the firework into the box, and it landed neatly in a pile of the grey stuff. James picked up his speed as he walked to the cupboard, got the webs, and scooted back to his seat. He was innocently referring to his textbook when the firework went off.

There were a few screams, and Lily was staring at Severus' arms and face with dismay. Severus slowly turned around, and James could see that his skin, below the stringy black hair, had hardened to form a grotesque, granite-and-rock-like substance. His eyes were sunken into his face, and his cheeks and nose were swollen and bulging. "Potter!" He tried to yell in accusation, but his words came out more like "owh-uh". He pointed at James angrily, showing his arm which was half-drooping with slimy gray clay.

"Now, Severus, we can't blame James," Slughorn said reasonably. "He wasn't near you. I wonder what happened?"

Lily had already investigated. She held the snuffbox up to Slughorn, showing him the burnt firework inside. "Somebody threw this," she said with distaste. "I wonder who." She glared at James.

"Anyone could have thrown it," Slughorn answered. "Let's just leave this here. Class, you're dismissed. Come, Mr Snape, I have to take you to the hospital wing."

Slughorn shuffled out of class, holding onto Snape's crusty arm. Lily lagged behind slightly, to go over to James. She stared up at him with hatred, and James somehow felt nervous staring into her fiery green eyes. "I don't know who you think you are," she said frostily, "but you've absolutely no right to do things like that. Nobody does. Severus hasn't done anything to you." She backed off with that, throwing him one last look of annoyance before she raced out to catch up with Slughorn and Snape.

"That stuff's pretty neat," Sirius said casually. "I think I'll nick some." He closed the silver snuffbox carefully and tucked it into his bag. James hadn't even noticed that Sirius had gone over to take it. He was still staring out into the corridor, in the direction of where Lily had gone.

"What's the matter? You're not that bothered by what Evans said, are you?" Sirius laughed, as though the very notion were ridiculous. "How many people have tried to give you that? Twenty? Thirty?" He threw his arm over James' shoulder, and passed him his bag. "Look, you got out without detention. Slughorn's amazing."

James nodded half-heartedly, taking his canvas bag from Sirius. He plastered a smile onto his face, but felt curiously hollow and unfulfilled. "Yeah," he agreed. "Let's go for Transfiguration."

**AN: Kindly tell me what you think.**


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